1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention is in the terminal display and accessing art for computers. In particular, the field relates to computer accessing at a remote location such as a terminal which provides information to the computer in the form of data that represents a signature on a card or other information to be displayed on the CRT of the terminal. The field can be further delineated by the ability to access a computer through a terminal, and at the same time provide a remote display of information, such as at a point of sale, bank teller's station, and other commercial and industrial display purposes wherein information that has previously been entered from the terminal is to be later displayed in the form of a video presentation after the information is captured.
2. The Prior Art
The prior art related to displays and CRT's at certain remote terminal positions generally relates to the ability of an operator to access data from a central processing unit (CPU). In particular, alpha-numeric displays are capable of being presented on a CRT for purposes of an operator analyzing or evaluating given information to be displayed thereon. The information is usually in the form of data that has been previously stored on tape, discs, or other memory means.
Recently, it has been common in point of sale displays, as well as branch banking, to provide certain information to a sales clerk or bank teller for validating or determining the character of a sale or banking transaction. In particular, it has been common for certain banking facilities to access a main computer to determine the balance of a customer's account, or the general character of the customer's account, such as credit, types of checks written, or amounts that can be drafted or drawn from the account.
One of the most sensitive areas of banking has been the verification of signatures by a bank clerk or teller. In particular, it has been customary for bank clerks to go to a particular card and compare the signature on a document, such as a check, draft, or note, whether it be issued by that branch or another branch. As can be understood, if a card is not on file at the particular branch which corresponds to the signature to be checked on the documents, such as a draft or a check, the bank clerk cannot fully authenticate the signature.
The foregoing is often the case in branch banking where a customer of the bank will draw a check on his account at one branch and then cash the check at another branch which is convenient at the time. Additionally, this happens oftentimes when a check is brought in by someone other than a depositor or customer, and the signature thereon must be checked against the signature that has been represented as that of the depositor upon whose account the check is to be drawn.
In addition to the foregoing problem, it is apparent that when a bank clerk or teller has to leave his post and go through a substantial stack of signature cards, the matter becomes difficult from the standpoint of time. This lengthens the transaction, detains customers at the teller's window, and generally lowers productivity within the bank.
The instant invention allows a signature card to be implaced within a signature capture frame by a new accounts clerk or any employee of the bank. The signature is then capable of being transmitted to a main central processing unit (CPU) and stored in the form of certain characters to later provide a display of that signature.
The signature can later be displayed at a CRT remote from the CPU, at a bank teller's or clerk's remote location by merely accessing the remote CPU through a keyboard. Accessability is enhanced with respect to all branches that are connected to the main CPU through any number of interconnect lines. Thus, the signature display can be provided to any branch, regardless of whether or not they have a signature card on file, thereby enabling a teller to compare a signature on any documents received in a facile and quick manner.
As a consequence, the teller need not remove herself in any given situation from her post and at the same time can access the signature for display purposes, regardless of whether or not the signature is on file at that particular branch.
In addition thereto, this invention can also provide the added feature of allowing a video display of a signature and an alphanumeric display of information on the same screen. Thus, video as well as alphanumeric information can be provided on the same screen of a terminal. This is a distinct advantage over the prior art by allowing accessability to the alphanumeric information, while at the same time providing a display of the video representation of some previously captured set of symbols, language, or other presentation.
Enhanced operation of the invention is accomplished by conversion of video information by strobing the intensity information into a digital shift register until a byte is accumulated and then transferring that byte to the digital storage means of the CPU.